


Cherry-Cola Slushies

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Werewolves are still a thing, Fluff, Good Alpha Derek Hale, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, Slushies, Stiles assumes the worst, Weird Fluff, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 16:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14336691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Stiles lives in Beacon Hills, and he works the late shift at a gas station, so he's pretty used to some weird things going on, but that doesn't mean that he's at all prepared for the gorgeous coke-slushie drinking Marvel fan who keeps buying weird things to enter his life...He's kinda worried that the guy is a serial killer, but he's aniceserial killer, so.... dilemmas dilemmas....





	Cherry-Cola Slushies

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: There are no actual cherry-cola slushies involved, that's just a pun from Lana Del Rey's "Sweet Serial Killer" as she has a line about "drinking cherry-cola" and I'm bad at titles
> 
> This was originally going to be a peice for Sterek Bingo next month but I realized too late that it didn't really fit the theme I was going for sooooo here it is early, hope you enjoy!

Stiles didn't hate his job, and honestly? He considered that to be a success

He worked at a gas station, yes, but it was a nice gas station

It was kind of more like a little cafe' to be honest, they had made-to-order personal pizzas and doughnuts and had like... twenty flavors of slushie

It was nice, clean, well-lit, and in a pretty good part of town, so for a gas station there weren't many complaints

The only real fear he had was getting robbed, especially during the nightshift, wich he figured was pretty reasonable

The day shift he had been fine with- totally, but once he got transferred to nights, the fear became real

No matter though, he could defend himself, he just hoped it never came to that

Plus, the fact was, that he got _paid_

... Ok, maybe not paid _well_ , but he got _paid_ and as per an agreement with his dad that was all he had to do for now

Having decided not to go to college and, instead, to pursue a writing career, his father agreed to help him out financially for a few years, figuring that it was only fair since Stiles wouldn't be asking for tuition

So with the job at the gas station and his father paying for about half his bills, he was doing alright, he just really hoped his writing would take off soon...

But still, all in all he didn't hate his job and he considered that to be a blessing

It was a surprisingly boring job actually, not alot happened....

Until it did

It all started with the appearance of the most gorgeous guy Stiles had ever laid eyes on and went downhill from there..

To start, Stiles named all of his regulars

Not their _real_ names ofcourse, but nicknames

For example, there was Gambling Addict Gavin, the guy who came in every night at two in the morning to buy lottery tickets

Stiles really hoped the guy won atleast a scratch off sometime, if for no other reason than to stop worrying about the dude's gambling debt

Wife's Cravings William, the guy who came in at three in the morning every night for ice cream, a hot dog, and a blue raspberry slushie, desperate to satisfy his pregnant wife

One time the poor guy showed up still wearing his bunny slippers...

Lucky Lily, who bought condoms at various times of night atleast three times a week

Stiles was _jealous_

Double Doughnut Dylan, who came in at midnight every night looking like he hadn't slept in eight hundred years, and who always bought two doughnuts and the biggest coffee they had

Stiles didn't know what the hell the poor guy did for a living or why he never slept but he felt _incredibly_ sorry for him

And Smokey Sally, who came in every night to buy two packs of cigarettes and had, since Stiles had started working night shifts last month, bought seven different lighters

He was honestly scared to ask

Ofcourse none of these were their real names, but they were easy to remember

Stiles had other nicknames for people too though

Like Clark Kent, the guy who wore giant glasses and was more polite than a girl scout and who came in every morning at exactly six A.M. for coffee and a bagel (this was for the breif stint that Stiles had worked mornings)

Or Mr. Raindrop, who only ever brought his umbrella on clear nights and somehow always neglected it when it was raining

So the interesting things- the weird things- they all revolved around one customer: Unhappy Camper (to be renamed later)

The first time Stiles met Unhappy Camper, it had only been dark for about an hour and Stiles had just started his shift, thunder was rolling outside and they were expecting rain, but so far the skies were dry

The guy was kind of gorgeous, with dark hair, a nice, well kept beard, and hazel-green-gold eyes, but that wasn't really what caught Stiles' eye the most- although it usually would have been

What really had his attention was everything the guy was- _somehow_ \- carrying: Three personal pizzas, two cheeseburgers, a boxed salad, three delli sandwiches, a bag of doughnuts, eight slushies of various flavors, and a hot dog

.....

Stiles felt pretty sorry for him to be honest

"Somebody sure did work up an appetite," he teased playfully, watching with only slight alarm as he started to set the items down on the counter, clearly trying to take care to not let anything fall over or drop any of his purchases

"These aren't just for me," the stranger said with something of a pensive look on his face, as if he had actually taken Stiles seriously

"Yeah I kinda figured... what, are you hosting some sort of midnight madness party or something?"

"Camping," the man huffed back

Stiles found that a little hard to believe, if only because he was dressed a little too nicely to be camping

Tight jeans, a nice henley, and a leather jacket...

Maybe it was just Stiles but whenever _he_ had gone camping in the past he was mucking around in sweatpants and t-shirts until long after he got home

Ofcourse maybe this guy was a first-timer and didn't know any better

It would certainly explain the enormous snack run and the slightly frustrated look on his face

"Family or freinds?"

"Both,"

"Neat, wich slushie is your's?"

"Coke,"

"Yeah? I'm a Coke man too,"

The stranger only gave a small nod, handing over some cash when Stiles told him his total, and, before Stiles could even give him change, grabbing the bags and drinks and hurrying out of the gas station

It hadn't been the _best_ first meeting, but it was why Stiles had started calling the guy Unhappy Camper: It just fit

The next time he saw Unhappy Camper was about two days later

He came in, bought two slushies (one coke, one cherry), two personal pizzas, and then asked for a disposable phone

"Really? Wow, I didn't even know people still used these," Stiles said with surprise

He had only been working at the gas station for a few months but so far Unhappy Camper was the first person to buy one- atleast on his shift

"I don't really do electronics," Unhappy Camper shrugged back, eyes firmly on the slushies as Stiles grabbed a phone from the rack behind him and added it to the guy's tab

"Really? No smartphone huh? Well, nothing wrong with that, to each their own, do you atleast watch TV?" he asked with a teasing smirk

That seemed to atleast somewhat catch the other man's attention, a slight smirk crossing his face as he handed some cash to the clerk

"Yeah, I watch TV, I'm not _that_ out of fashion,"

_Out of fashion_?

Well, Stiles supposed that was one way to put it

"Glad to hear it," Stiles grinned back

The man just took his bags and his slushies, turning to walk away before pausing and smiling over his shoulder

"See you later,"

And then he was gone

Though Stiles didn't have to wait that long to see him again, he was back about a week later

....

And he looked significantly different

This time he brought up a truly massive pile of candy, ranging from bags of gummy worms to chocolate bars to M&Ms and everything in between

He looked like a kid on Halloween who's candy bag broke, and that was only made worse by the fact that he looked a little different than usual

Instead of his usual henley, he was wearing a Black Panther t-shirt, and slung across his body was... a purse

A Guardians Of The Galaxy Awesome Mixtape purse that Stiles recognized all too well from when he had seen it at Hot Topic over a year ago

Stiles was a little bit in love

"Infinity War?" Stiles asked with a smirk

Unhappy Camper turned red, giving a tense nod as he dumped the pile of candy on the counter

"Decided not to give in to the prices at the concession stand huh?"

"No, waiting in line, I didn't listen to my sister about buying tickets in advance," he paused, staring down in frustration at the pile on the counter

"This is my punishment,"

It took everything- EVERYTHING- in Stiles' power not to start laughing, but he managed to hold it in

"What theater are you going to?"

"Park 12,"

"Really? Cool! So am I! Atleast you shouldn't have _too_ long of a line, it's just a little neighborhood place,"

Unhappy Camper grunted quietly at that, rubbing the back of his neck as he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket, wich .. prompted an interesting question, as Stiles stared down at the purse

"That just for decoration?"

Unhappy Camper paused, staring down at the bag, and looking even more uncomfortable than he had in the beginning

"My sister did this to me..."

"Well I like it, I wish I'd had the confidence- or the cash- to buy one of those when they were available," Stiles replied honestly, starting to bag up the candy now that it was all rung up

".. Really?"

"Yeah absolutely! But I just couldn't justify the cash for something I knew I wouldn't use often," he explained

Unhappy Camper seemed to understand that, nodding in consideration as he- once again- handed over cash

"For what it's worth, I think you would have found a good way to purpose it, my sister uses this more as an organizer than a purse,"

An organizer?

He'd like to know how the hell that worked but he didn't really have the chance to ask, considering Unhappy Camper was grabbing the bags already

"Thanks... and uh, I'll probably see you at the movie, I'm getting off early tonight for it, made a deal with a devil and all that, we'll be at the same theater," he said quickly, unbuttoning his vest and yanking it open like Superman to reveal his own Avengers t-shirt

Unhappy Camper actually.... looked kind of happy about that

"I'll see you later then," he promised, taking off out of the gas station a moment later and leaving Stiles grinning for the rest of the night

He decided to rename his new favorite customer after that- Unhappy Camper became Candy Avenger

 

~+~

 

Sadly, he did not, in fact, see Candy Avenger at the theater

He was running late getting there and only arrived at the tail end of the credits, meaning he had no time to look around and had to deal with being in the second row to boot, due to how crowded it was

Sure Park 12 was a small neighborhood place that never really sold out anything, but a midnight premiere for Avengers: Infinity War?

Yeah, that was crowded no matter _how_ small the theater was

But whatever, he was sure he'd be seeing his favorite customer sooner rather than later

And happily, he was right!

... Unfortunately, the encounter wasn't quite what Stiles expected, and in complete honesty, it kind of creeped him out

The next time he saw Candy Avenger was a week later, he came in dressed like he usually was, but something just seemed... kind of off

Stiles couldn't put his finger on what, only that he seemed even more quiet than usual

But that wasn't what had Stiles raising his eyebrows, instead, it was what he was buying

A roll of duct tape, three bottles of lighter fluid, a lighter, a box of rubber gloves, and an extra large coffee

But that wasn't the creepiest part, what was definitely weirder was what he asked Stiles when he approached the counter

"Do you sell rope?"

...Yeah.... creepy

"Um, sorry dude, no rope,"

Candy Avenger seemed put out by that, muttering a quiet "Hang on" and disappearing across the store, coming back a few moments later with three more rolls of duct tape

Stiles' eyes were like _saucers_

"Wow, do you need zipties and some chloroform too?" Stiles snorted teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood as he rang up the purchases

Candy Avenger seemed considerably perplexed by that

"You don't sell those..."

Ok what the actual fu-

"Thank you," he added quickly, taking the bag immediately once Stiles had finished filling it and laying a couple of twenties down on the counter, not bothering to wait for change as he hurried out of the gas station

Stiles didn't sleep that night

 

~+~

 

The next time he saw Candy Avenger, it was an even weirder encounter

Ten minutes before two in the morning, when Stiles' shift was ending, Candy Avenger practically raced into the store, covered in blood, and clutching his left arm for dear life

He looked exhausted and haggard and like he had just spent the night trying to outrun Freddy Kreuger, and considering the amount of blood.... that might not be so far off from the truth

"Do you sell first aid kits?"

First aid kits?

_First aid kits_?

He looked like he needed a _hospital_ , not a freaking _first aid kit_!

"Sorry... no, most we've got are bandaids and Tylenol,"

He looked so... crestfallen by that, paler than a sheet too...

"Where can I get one?"

"Well ... the nearest 24-hour drug store is the Walgreens up the road, it's about ten minutes awa-"

"Isn't there anywhere closer?"

He seemed so panicked and upset that Stiles temporarily forgot about his last encounter with the guy, and he forgot to wonder about how he had gotten hurt too, for that matter

"No but... I've got a first aid kit in my car, you can borrow it, just... bring it back ASAP alright?"

"You have a first aid kit in your car?" Candy Avenger asked, the most quizzical look on his face

"Are you serious? Is THAT really your concern right now?"

"Fair point," he muttered

Stiles grumbled under his breath, hurrying out from behind the counter and racing over to the mini cafe' a few yards on the other side of the store, where his only co-worker was practically asleep on top of her doughnut

"Caitlin! Caitlin wake up!!"

"Huh?! Is.. is my shift over?" she muttered, raising her head up and looking around in alarm

"No, you've gotta man the counter for a few minutes, I have an emergency,"

"O-Oh... yeah, no problem," she promised, giving him something of a thumb's up before moving to get up as Stiles hurried back towards Candy Avenger

"I need a lighter too," he said suddenly

Seriously?

"Seriously?"

The guy's eyebrows raised, as if silently answering, and Stiles huffed in annoyance as he grabbed a lighter from the rack in front of him and then grabbed the scanner, hurrying to run it over the barcode on the lighter and hand it to Candy Avenger

"I'll take that out of the change you left last time," he grumbled

"Thanks," the man said quickly, hurrying to follow Stiles out of the gas station and into the parkinglot, running over to the big blue jeep parked at the edge of the lot

"Remember, _return this_ ," Stiles insisted as he unlocked the trunk

"I know, I know,"

"Are you _sure_ you don't need to go to the hospital?" he frowned, grabbing the kit out of the back of the car and almost reluctantly handing it over to the other man

"I'm not the one who needs this," Candy Avenger said quickly, taking the kit and the lighter in his bloody hands and stepping back

"Thank you for this, I owe you,"

Once again, before Stiles could even retort, he had run off to the other side of the lot and towards a sleek looking black Camaro, leaving Stiles alone, frustrated, and... concerned

Yeah....

Yeah, he was _definitely_ concerned

 

~+~

 

It was times like these when Stiles was really glad that he was the son of the sheriff

He had managed to get the plate number off of the Camaro- with some difficulty- before Candy Avenger had actually left, and he had asked his father to run the plates through the system

What he was left with was a name, age, address, and very suspicious father

Stiles didn't really _want_ to invade Candy Avenger's privacy, and he only ever had his dad look people up in the system when they were _really_ giving Stiles bad vibes- wich, for the record, Candy Avenger really wasn't, Stiles was just .... worried

But it was exactly _because_ he was worried that he had decided to have him looked up

He wanted to keep an eye out for the guy, and he decided that if he didn't hear from his still-favorite customer within a week, he'd try to track him down for himself, under the guise of getting his first aid kit back, when in reality he just wanted to make sure the suspicious dude was still alive

Luckily, it didn't get that far

Four nights later, right after Stiles started his shift, Candy Avenger was back, handing Stiles a decorative Spiderman gift bag and setting two personal pizzas, a coke slushie, and a cherry slushie down on the counter, as if nothing weird had happened at all lately

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Eyebrows raised, Stiles glanced around to make sure no one was waiting behind the guy in line before setting the bag down and pulling out it's contents: A brand new first aid kit (much bigger than the original) and ...

"How in the HELL did you find this?"

Sitting nicely in the bag, next to the kit, was the Awesome Mixtape purse Stiles had mentioned a couple of weeks ago

It was clearly brand new even though they had stopped selling them months ago, as evidenced by the little plastic pouch the chain was still nestled in and the white papper wrapped around it, the brown papper stuffing on the inside, and even the little Silica packet in the corner

"I know people," he shrugged back vaguely

Stiles squinted, but didn't press the issue further, instead setting everything aside and starting to ring up the purchases

"You know you didn't have to do that, right?"

"I owed you,"

"Yeah, well, the extra large first aid kit would have been payment enough..."

"No, it wouldn't, I... I _really_ owed you,"

Stiles frowned, the scanner hovering over the guy's ticket for the personal pizzas as he exhaled, shoulders sagging, and slowly grabbing a bag to put the pizzas in

"Is your arm ok?"

"It's fine, thanks,"

"And the uh... mystery wounded person who needed the first aid kit, are they-"

"Fine, thanks to you,"

Stiles just nodded stiffly, reluctantly handing the bag over and watching as the Candy Avenger took it, then both slushies, offering a small, kind of... greatfull... smile back to him

"Thanks... I'll see you later,"

"Yeah, see ya'," Stiles agreed, watching him disappear out of the building and huffing a frustrated sigh

He was probably never going to figure that guy out...

Shaking his head, he peeled the papper and plastic off of the chain, unbuttoned the bag and yanked out the stuffing and silica packet, and... found something odd underneath those...

It was a little neon pink envelope, clearly designed to keep from being mixed in with the stuffing, and when Stiles pulled it out and opened it, he found a check... worth _$10,000_

Honest to God what the absolute and actual hell!?

He didn't even bother going to nudge one of his coworkers this time, he just sprinted off out of the store, check and purse in hand, waving the little sheet of papper around and finding with releif that Candy Avenger was currently pumping gas into his Camaro

"Derek Hale!! What the hell!?"

Derek- Candy Avenger's _real_ name, as per his father's information- jerked his head up and frowned

"What-"

"Where did you get this money? Why are you GIVING me this money!? This isn't _I owe you_ , this is _You won the lottery_!"

"Why do I feel like you didn't get my name off of the check?"

"That isn't important! What the hell Hale!?"

He sighed loudly, yanking the pump out of his car and setting it back where it belonged, screwing the cap back on the open gas tank and frowning up at the other man

"I told you, I ow-"

"You don't owe me like THIS!"

He took a step closer, but the second he did, an incredibly loud, incredibly sharp ***WOOF!*** sounded right in his ear, jerking his attention away from Derek as he stared down at an enormous Doberman sitting in the passenger's seat, staring at Stiles like he was a slice of prime rib and letting out another loud, earth-quaking ***WOOF!***

"Oh my God..."

He imagined that this was what the hounds guarding hell looked like

"Down Harley! _Freind_ ,"

The dog- _Harley_ \- seemed almost saddened by that, but sat down in the seat anyway and panted at Stiles as if he _hadn't_ just acted like he was going to eat Stiles alive

_What the hell what the hell what the hell what the hell what the hell-?_

"Sorry about her, she's still learning,"

"Yeah... no problem," Stiles muttered back quietly

"Thanks for all of your help Stiles, I'll see you later," Derek said quietly, sliding into his car and shutting the door behind him

"What- ... wait a second! How do you know my name!?"

Derek either didn't hear him or didn't care to answer, as he started the car and drove off without so much as acknowledging him

_Crap..._

 

~+~

 

Stiles had decided not to try returning the check again

If Derek was that insistent on him having it then he wasn't going to take it back, and honestly? It was ten thousand dollars for crying out loud, Stiles could USE that money

But he couldn't help feeling increasingly concerned about Derek and their most recent interactions, he was on edge ever since and practically clawing at the counter to see Derek again

Finally, he got his wish, but it came with something of a price

The last straw was a little less than a week later

It was pouring rain out, thunder rolling in the distance, and Stiles was _not_ looking forward to driving in it

Ofcourse _tonight_ would be when he gets off early... 

It was just after midnight, not long before Stiles was supposed to get off work, Derek came in again- dripping wet- and bought five slushies in various flavors, two bottles of water, and a box of Tylenol

"Will this help someone sleep?" he asked with a small frown, setting the box of Tylenol in front

"Um... no, but Tylenol PM will,"

"Do you have that?"

"Ahh..."

Actually, he didn't remember...

He stepped away from the counter, glancing over their tiny medicine shelf and wrinkling his nose

"We have Advil PM, it's basically the same thing but I personally like Tylenol better... it'll work in a pinch though," he replied, handing over the box to Derek, who looked a little put out by that

"Thanks,"

"Sure, no problem, you have a cold or something?"

"Or something," Derek replied slowly, setting everything down and shifting a little, looking highly uncomfortable as his eyes flickered up towards the rack behind Stiles

"I need another burner phone too,"

Eyebrows raised, Stiles slowly grabbed a phone from the rack and set it down with the other purchases, starting to ring them all up

"Derek... is everything ok?"

"It's fine," he promised, and Stiles would have been more likely to believe him if it had been _Pinocchio_ telling him that giant lie

"Derek-"

"It's fine Stiles, I promise," he said, reaching out to grab the bag on the counter

It was only then that Stiles noticed the blood all over his hand...

"Derek-"

"Thanks, I'll see you later,"

And then he was gone again, back into the rain, and Stiles...

Stiles felt _bad_ for him

He didn't feel like Derek was a bad person, no matter the weird list of encounters may have lead anyone else to believe, he felt like bad things just ... kept on happening to him and it made his heart ache

He knew it was stupid to think like that, especially considering he didn't even KNOW Derek, but ... it was how he felt

Cursing quietly under his breath, he leaned back in the chair behind him and bit his lip

He'd be off work in ten minutes, and he was _determined_ to put an end to his curiosity once and for all

He had Derek's address written down in his jeep, and he knew a shortcut to get there too

He just hoped that this would lead to the answers he wanted.... and not his body ending up in Derek's basement...

 

~+~

 

Stiles wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he pulled up to Derek's house, but it was... frighteningly close to his worst nightmares

The house was old and broken down, boards over the windows and the wood cracked and bent, paint peeling and damaged, there was a hole in one of the porch steps and ... honestly, it looked like a serial killer's dream house

This was just his freaking luck...

Swallowing tightly, Stiles fished his umbrella out of the backseat and stepped out of the car, popping the umbrella open and cursing as the wind blew into him like a freaking stack of bricks, threatening to jerk the umbrella out of his hands

He cursed under his breath, slowly approaching the house and wincing as the boards squeaked underneath his feet

Slowly, he turned the doornob and was relieved to find the door unlocked.... or maybe that the lock no longer worked... either way, he managed to step inside, jumping at the sound of two dogs barking up a storm

One was clearly the Doberman that Derek had had with him before, but the other must have been a much smaller dog, considering the barking was more of a shrill squeak than the heavy boom of the Doberman

He could hear footsteps from upstairs and a low groaning coming from the living room

A sick, miserable groaning that sounded like someone was dieing...

His stomach sank, face going pale as he hurried into the living room to see who was making the noise, and when he got there, he found a woman laying on the couch

Dark skin, dark hair, she looked like she was in pain and kind of... out of it, like she was drugged or something

"Stiles? What are you doing here?"

Derek's voice made a chill run up Stiles' spine, a look of concern on his face as he turned and stared at the other

"I was worried about you so I followed you, what's with her? What happened?"

"Someone slipped something in her drink, our freind called me to pick her up, I did, I punched the guy who had been harassing her, and then I put her in the car to take her home, she felt sick so I stopped by to get the pain killers and water, and our freind insisted on slushies so..."

Stiles wrinkled his nose, not sure what to believe

Sure that seemed _infinitely_ more plausible but something still felt .. off...

"Come into the kitchen so I can turn on a light, I don't want to hurt her eyes," he insisted, waving Stiles forward

He was a little hesitant, but he wanted to believe Derek, he wanted to _trust_ Derek, so he followed anyway

As soon as Derek turned on a light Stiles could see that the inside of the house was actually alot nicer than the outside, clearly they were in the process of redoing the place or something

"You didn't follow me because you were concerned, and you didn't _follow_ me to begin with, somehow or another you got my address and you came here to .. what? Bust me for a crime that I didn't commit?"

...

Ok that was frighteningly accurate but Stiles wasn't going to let it put him off

"Look, you have to admit, things have been pretty freaking weird with you lately, I mean one minute you're buying murder supplies, the next you need a first aid kit, what's the deal?"

"Do you want an explanation for _all_ of my purchases, or just the ones you find suspicious?"

When he put it that way it kind of made Stiles sound bad... but he had come this far and he wasn't about to quit now

"Ahh.... the second one?"

Derek inhaled, leaning against the kitchen counter and opening his mouth to speak when suddenly a loud, shrill bark went off again, wich apparently startled Derek even more than it did Stiles, given the way he jumped, how his eyes flashed red and his fangs popped out

....

_Oooohhhhhhh_

He was a werewolf....

Well that potentially explained alot

Derek looked pale, like he had just shared a secret he hadn't meant to share, and honestly, that was probably exactly what happened

"Oh, hey, don't worry, I'm in the know," Stiles explained quickly, giving him a quirky smile as he snapped his fingers and caused the faucet behind Derek to start running

Derek looked.... shocked

No, _beyond_ shocked

He looked as pale as a ghost

"You.. you know? And.... you're a witch? I .. I thought you were human..."

"Is that what all of your broody secrecy has been about all this time?"

"Some of it," Derek said with a quiet sigh, slowly sinking down into the chair behind him and chewing his lip

"So.... I take it your weird purchases are werewolf related?"

"Mostly," Derek agreed quietly, looking down at the ground

"My pack moved back here a few weeks ago, my sister and I are originally from here but we moved to New York after our house burned down, our family with it,"

"Derek Hale.... so that's where I remember that name,"

How had he forgotten?

Sure he had only been a kid at the time, twelve... thirteen... something like that... but it hadn't been _that_ long ago, Stiles was only nineteen now

"I thought you may recognize it," Derek agreed quietly

"Cora and I decided to move back here after I became an Alpha, the house was just a shell so ... we've been working to repair and rebuild it ever since, the first night I came into the convenience store was the night we all got in, I didn't want to explain it so I just said we were camping,"

"It was a full moon then too, right?"

"You're catching on," Derek said with a slight smirk

"Since then we've had some encounters with hunters, I've had to burn out wolfsbane, fix up wounds, my freind Braeden, the girl on the couch, she wants to stay human, atleast for now, so when she was shot before..."

"Right, first aid kit..."

"You got it,"

"What about the check though?" Stiles frowned

"I told you I owed you, and.... you had been good to me, so I wanted to be good to you,"

Oh...

Derek's family had been pretty wealthy, Stiles knew that, it still shocked him that the wolf would want to give so much money to a virtual stranger for pretty much no reason but he supposed it wouldn't exactly hurt him, considering...

"What about the burner phones?"

"Cora is demanding that I have a cell phone for emergencies, I hate them though, so I finally broke down and agreed to get a burner, but my first one got destroyed during a fight with some hunters so I had to get a replacement,"

That... actually made perfect sense

"What about the tape? And the lighterfluid?"

Derek was quiet for a moment, biting down on his lip

"I told you we'd had run-ins with hunters...."

Stiles nodded, deciding not to press any further

Chances were he had actually been atleast somewhat right about that one, clearly whatever the explanation was, it was something Derek didn't want to talk about, and that....

Stiles understood that

"Can I ask you something now?" Derek asked suddenly, perking up Stiles' attention

"Yeah, sure, go ahead, I mean it's literally the LEAST I can do..."

"Do you have a pack?"

Well that.... was unexpected

"Um... only sorta, we're kind of a hodgepodge of different people and things but.. honestly, we're small, and almost everyone is gone now, at college or whatever, I'm pretty much the only person left in town as of now,"

Derek nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair and going quiet for a few moments before deciding to speak again

"We could use a witch with us, and being without a real pack can be ... dangerous, for someone in our... community,"

"Derek... are you offering me a place in your pack?" Stiles asked with a bright, happy grin

Derek started to turn a little red, shrugging shyly and rubbing the back of his neck

"If.... you want,"

"I think that can be arranged," Stiles agreed with a small smile

He was actually looking forward to being part of a real pack

Until now he had just been part of .. more of a group really, a few of his freinds of various supernatural origin, a rag-tag bunch really, but ever since his freind Scott had been bitten several years ago he had wanted to be part of a real pack

"I'll be invited to pack nights and full moons and stuff right?"

"Right,"

"Then in that case you should probably know that my favorite slushie flavor is coke and my candy of choice is Reeses,"

"Good to know," Derek said blandly

"So... you guys live here?"

"Cora and I do, the others come in and out, I own some real estate around here and they each have an apartment so they don't have to stick around for the rebuilding, or have to deal with unwanted roommates,"

Stiles nodded again, glancing around the kitchen and noticing the new refrigerator in the corner

The kitchen was freshly redone, hardly stocked with anything, no wonder he was always buying food at the gas station...

"Maybe I can help out with the rebuilding, I mean, I can paint atleast," he offered with a small shrug

"Really? You aren't even officially pack yet..."

"So? I will be, and besides, I _owe_ you after coming here and ruining your night,"

"My night isn't ruined," he promised softly, glancing up at the other with a slight sparkle in his eye

"In fact... it isn't _that_ late... and it's raining pretty hard out... I have leftover take-out if you're hungry, and plenty of movies if you want to watch something, I mean... it's raining pretty hard, you shouldn't be driving in this,"

Was he... offering him a _date_?

"Really? So... you aren't mad that I came in here looking to accuse you of being a serial killer or anything?"

Derek only shrugged, standing up from the table

"It happens, and you meant well, is that a yes on the take out?"

He absolutely _was_ and that was the cutest thing ever

"Definitely,"

"Good, I can take Braeden upstairs to the guest room and then we can start a movie, I was just getting the guest room ready for her when you came in anyway, and... you don't mind dogs do you? I want to let Harley and Kara down here so they don't bother her, Cora's out so ... they need someone to be around or they'll just wander to the nearest person, or get into things, that's why they're gated in upstairs to begin with,"

Kara huh? Must be the little yapper's name

"I don't mind, your _behemoth_ just spooked me the other night, that's all,"

Derek snorted, nodding and grabbing a couple of Cokes out of the fridge

"Yeah, Harley'll do that, I keep telling Cora to be more dedicated about training her but with all that's been going on lately I can't really blame her for dragging her feet,"

Wait.... what?

"Wait a second, Harley is _Cora's_ dog?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then why did you have her the other night?"

"She wanted to go for a ride," Derek shrugged back easily, setting the bottles on the table before heading to the living room, gently picking up Braeden, who only groaned quietly in response, and starting to carry her up the stairs

Stiles followed quickly, eager to see Kara and confirm his suspicions, and sure enough, the moment they got to the gate, there was Harley... and next to her, a tiny little Yorkie, bouncing around and growling like she owned the place

"That's Kara?"

"Yep,"

"And Kara is?"

"Mine,"

Suddenly Stiles was overrun with the mental images of Derek Hale cuddling with that tiny little dog wile his sister and her _freaking **horse**_ ran circles around him

...

"Oh Derek," Stiles grinned, opening the baby gate at the top of his stairs for his new companion

"I think this is going to be a beautifull relationship,"


End file.
